Sony confirms layoffs at three British first-party studios

Just one month after laying off staff at Santa Monica Studio, there have been more confirmed layoffs at Sony and three of its largest UK first-party developers – Evolution Studios (DriveClub), Guerrilla Cambridge (Killzone: Mercenary) and SCE London Studio (EyePet, SingStar).

In a statement issued to VideoGamer.com, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe said that the development of DriveClub will not be affected by the latest round of layoffs despite the game’s extended development cycle. Here’s Sony’s statement explaining the recent layoffs in more detail:

“Regular reviews take place throughout SCE Worldwide Studios, ensuring that the resources that we have in such a competitive business can create and produce high quality, innovative and commercially viable projects.

“As part of this process, we have reviewed and assessed all current projects and have decided to make some changes to some of our European Studios. As a result of this, there will be a focused restructure within London Studio, Guerrilla Cambridge Studio and Evolution Studio to ensure that the SCE WWS is in the best position to achieve their goals going forward.

“Our first party development studios are key to our creative strategy and we are very excited about the future projects being worked on.”

Is this latest round of layoffs bad news for PlayStation fans or will it make Sony more competitive moving forward as the platform holder suggests? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.